Any experience with local follow-up tests after out of town treatment?

[naturephotog]

I live in San Diego, but I am planning on getting SBRT with Dr Kishan at UCLA. For those who have travelled to get treatment, what has your experience been with getting follow-up tests done in your hometown? I really don't want to drive three hours to LA every time I need a simple test like a PSA. Has anyone dealt with that before and if so, were you able to get tests done locally that were ordered by a doctor who isn't local?

[Tall_Allen]

I always had my follow up PSAs done at my PCP's office. As long as you pick one place and stick with it it's fine. My RO mailed me questionnaires. I never really had to see him again after I began treatment.

[naturephotog in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks TA. I appreciate the quick answer.

[Jpl506]

I live in the Southeast and was treated by Dr. Kishan just over 2 years ago. I saw him for treatment and then again last month for my 2 year follow up. Other than that, I had all of my testing done locally through my PCP. No problems whatsoever. Dr. Kishan, either directly or through his staff, was able to work with my PCP to get whatever testing he needed.

[naturephotog in reply to Jpl506]

Thank you! That's especially helpful since you were also treated by Dr Kishan so I would imagine it will be very similar for me.

[mattieubro]

I’ve had all PSA and blood work performed by Scripps here in SD. My PCP even ordered my yearly mpMRIs. These were always done at Imaging Healthcare Specialists in town. I had single lesion dx back in 2013 with FLA in 2014 at UTMB. All good for 8 years until new lesion showed up on MRI, 3+4, last month. IHS just did in bore MRI guided biopsy last month. Signed on with UCSD for new Urologist as they are NCCN facility. He ordered SelectMDXand Oncotypedx tests as well as PSMA Pylarify. PSMA will be done at IHS as UCSD first available was in October. So far happy with UCSD but never unwilling to travel for treatment after we get all test and scan results back in September

[naturephotog in reply to mattieubro]

Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about the new lesion. Hope all goes well for you.

[mattieubro in reply to naturephotog]

Thanks. Question…why Dr Kishan vs local? I will most likely be looking at some treatment. Won’t know until I get all the results back.

I know UCLA is COE but curious if you checked out the local talent first and decided they weren’t up to snuff? In 2014 I traveled to Galveston as there wasn’t any FLA being done in SD. I’m guessing any treatment now is going to be more traditional. Thanks again

[naturephotog in reply to mattieubro]

I did talk with the docs at UCSD and I think they're great, but I knew that Dr Kishan is considered one of the best of the best and after talking with him It only reinforced that. I was also swayed by the MRI-guided ViewRay machine they use for SBRT at UCLA. It seemed like the potential for bad side effects would be reduced with the accuracy of that machine, especially given the high dose of radiation given with SBRT. I just finished my second treatment today. Three more to go.

[mattieubro in reply to naturephotog]

Thanks for the info. I’ll keep this in mind if SBRT becomes an option. So many differences between all the practitioners. Good luck with the remainder of treatments. Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated

[mattieubro]

Thoughts on SBRT as you must be finished with treatments by now. I had consult with Dr Kishan last week. Very curious about your experience. Thanks

[naturephotog in reply to mattieubro]

Hi mattieubro,

Yes, I completed the 5 SBRT sessions about a month ago. I'm very pleased with my decision to go with SBRT with Dr Kishan. I've had very few and very minimal side effects so I'm quite happy with that. I was also happy that I took the extra effort to head up to UCLA for the treatments. Dr Kishan is one of the best and the technology available there is more advanced than I could have gotten in San Diego. Let me know if you have other questions. I'm happy to answer what I can related to the experience.

[mattieubro in reply to naturephotog]

That’s great news. Congratulations. The precision and convenience of that treatment choice is certainly attractive. I did my cheek swap for the KRAS gene yesterday and sent that back. Interesting that he’s using genomics. Did you drive up each time or stay for the duration? Thanks again

[naturephotog in reply to mattieubro]

Yeah, the genomics part is interesting. I stayed in LA during the week and came home on the weekend in between. I wouldn't recommend driving up each time. You can never tell what the traffic is going to be like up that way and you have to do the enema the morning of and time getting your bladder full so you don't have to sit around with it full for too long. That's probably the trickiest part of the whole thing and much easier to deal with if you're already up there in a hotel. Good luck with whatever you choose to do. I hope your outcome is as good as mine had been so far.